Understanding
by blueberried
Summary: Shikaku can remember the exact day he knew his son would never be attracted to the opposite gender. A drabble from Shikaku's point-of-view of his son growing up and eventually ending up with the village's former Pariah turned Hokage. (Shikanaru)


_A drabble from Shikaku's point-of-view of his son growing up and eventually ending up with the village's former Pariah turned Hokage.  
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 _Not as satisfied with this as I was when I first drafted it but after re-writing many of it's parts I've given up on re-writing it any further._

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Shikaku can remember the exact day he knew his son would never be attracted to the opposite gender.

It had just been a quick visit to Inoichi but somehow it had become slightly longer when some of the older Yamanaka clan kids, all boys, had dragged the young Nara heir out into the garden. Shikaku remembers every exact detail and the sudden clarity of his thoughts as he watched his six year old son flush under the attentions of some of the older boys as they questioned him on their Academy work.

" _My son's gay._ " He thought as he walked home, Shikamaru asleep on his back.

Shikaku didn't think of his son's ( _possible_ ) sexual orientation again until the day Shikamaru graduated from the Academy. Watching his son walk out the Academy doors, Konoha headband tied around his upper arm ( _it fills Shikaku with so much pride even though he knew Shikamaru would pass regardless_ ) and then a shock of blonde hair, that brings up memories Shikaku would like to not think about, trails out the doors after his son. He knows that color of blonde. Remembers the color very clearly being another man's color, a man he would have followed into hell, a dear friend that to this day thoughts of him still make Shikaku's heart pang in grief.

The Fourth Hokage's son is among the graduating class and Shikaku feels sad and happy all at once for the boy.

He's surprised when Minato's son, _Naruto_ his mind helpfully whispers, bounds over to Shikamaru and proceeds to give his son what he's sure is a bone-crushing hug. He watches as Naruto gestures wildly, mouth moving a mile minute. He expects Shikamaru to roll his eyes and ignore the boy but he does the opposite. Shikamaru _smiles_. It's a small one but it's completely genuine. Shikaku can count on one hand the number of people that have ever gotten a genuine smile like that from his son and he certainly never expected Minato's son to be one of those privileged few. He didn't even know his son knew the boy besides them both being in the same class and the fact that everyone knows about Naruto through his pranking.

In that moment Shikaku knew he witnessed something important for his son. It was only months later, after the dreaded mission to retrieve the little Uchiha traitor, that it truly hit Shikaku and cemented his belief in his son being gay.

He had gone to the hospital to check on Shikamaru, who had been spending all his time there since the mission's spectacular failure. He thought he'd find him in Choji's room but the Akimichi boy shook his head at Shikaku before replying that Shikamaru was in Naruto's room.

When he walked into the Jinchūriki's room he found Shikamaru on the hospital bed laying down next to Naruto. His son was fast asleep but the blonde boy was not. He froze as blue eyes filled ( _such a familiar blue_ ) with suspicion and slight fear as they stared at each other. Shikaku quickly noticed that Naruto seemed to tense, body tilting towards Shikamaru. Naruto's hands shifting slightly, in a manner that indicated he would move Shikamaru away from Shikaku if something happened. Almost like he was preparing for an attack on them both. " _Now why's that?_ " Shikaku had wondered for a split-second before it dawned on him. The boy was ostracized by the citizens, had been attacked multiple times and he remembers hearing how a family had punished their child for playing with the blonde a few years ago.

" _He fears I'll be angry with Shikamaru for being close to him..."_ Shikaku concluded and slowly took a step forward. Naruto had tensed further and winced almost imperceptibly over how it tugged on his wounds. Shikaku wasn't surprised at the wince, seeing as the blonde should be dead. It was only the miracle of the Uzumaki bloodline's vitality and the boy's passenger that he was even alive, much less awake, aware and moving.

"Troublesome... you keep fidgeting like that and you'll wake him up you know..." Shikaku said and smiled, letting his stance relax into a nonthreatening position. He didn't want the boy to be scared of him or think that because his son was friends with the Jinchūriki, Shikaku would hurt one of them ( _that the blonde was so unaccustomed to people not hating him that he legitimately thought Shikaku would possibly try and hurt him or his own son made Shikaku's blood boil at the villagers_ ). Naruto had merely blinked at him before a small, soft smile tugged at his lips, the tension and adrenaline leaving the boy's body immediately. Naruto leaned into his son, the slight adrenaline rush he had gotten when Shikaku came in the room leaving the boy exhausted even more and unable to hold himself up.

It was quiet after that. The blonde's attention had completely shifted to the boy laying down next to him, ignoring everything else and Shikaku observed how the blonde slowly drifted to sleep. He concluded that Naruto had deemed him not a threat to himself and Shikamaru ( _which made Shikaku feel a little miffed, he was not a threat to his son. Ever._ ). His other conclusion had come a couple hours later when Shikamaru woke up and looked down at the other boy. Naruto had snuggled into his side with one arm thrown over him. Shikamaru never noticed as his father slipped out of the room and Shikaku left the hospital, the soft and loving look he had seen in his son's eyes replying over and over in his head.

" _My son is in love_." He thought as he walked home, deep in thought.

The three years that Naruto were gone reaffirmed Shikaku's opinion that his son was in love with the blonde boy. Shikamaru had become closed off after Naruto left and it only became worse when Asuma died. Shikaku tried to let Shikamaru sort out his guilt and grief himself, but when it became clear Shikamaru would only get worse without intervention, Shikaku stepped up. He remembers the tears his son cried over Asuma, how his son had coolly plotted the death of the killer and then carried out his plan without remorse. He had wondered briefly if a certain blonde boy would have been able to help Shikamaru move on from his grief more gently.

Shikamaru had recovered from Asuma's death, accepting it ( _the revenge against his teacher's killer had played a part, Shikaku acknowledged_ ) and moving on but something had still been wrong. No one else might have noticed it, but Shikaku knew his son. A puzzle piece was missing. So when a certain blonde-haired boy walked back into the village and a light returned to his son's eyes, Shikaku knew without a doubt. Shikamaru loved Naruto, even though his son didn't seem to realize it.

" _But does Naruto feel anything for my son..._ " Was what Shikaku thought after watching Naruto and Shikamaru eat with each other at the ramen place the blonde was a fanatic about.

Almost without anyone taking notice, Naruto had started spending a lot of his time at the Nara compound, going over things with Shikamaru about the Akatsuki. He became almost a permanent fixture before Shikaku had taken the blonde aside and told him the guest bedroom was his, he could stay as long as he wanted because it was too troublesome to have him in and out of the compound every night just to sleep.

He hoped that the blonde sleeping at the compound would cause something to happen between his son and the boy because the underlining tension between them was driving Shikaku up the walls and he was almost ready to stage an intervention. The two needed to stop being children and just confess already. As he turned a corner and headed to Shikamaru's room, he wondered how he should broach the subject. Being blunt would work best most likely... it worked when Asuma died. But then again telling your son to just get on with it and screw his friend, his very male friend, was probably incredibly different.

As he approached the screen to his son's room he heard harsh whispering that was slowly rising in volume. It was cut off suddenly and a loud thud could be heard on the other side of the screen, a strangled exclamation of "Naruto!" the last thing he heard as it grew quiet. Knowing he should probably just turn around and leave it be, Shikaku gave into his curiosity and gently pushed the screen open some. He peered in and could just make out Naruto leaning over his son, their faces awfully close and- oh, finally. Closing the screen as quietly as he could, Shikaku turned on his heel and walked off. Looks like he didn't need to stage an intervention after all.

Nothing really changed other than the tension that had filled the air being gone, much to Shikaku's relief, and that Naruto often slept in Shikamaru's room instead of the guest room he had been given. The first time he caught them sleeping together ( _just sleeping, thankfully_ ) he didn't think much of it. His wife however had caught on and mentioned something about the blonde sleeping in Shikamaru's room more than the guest room. Shikaku very clearly remembers Shikamaru looking at them both with steel in his eyes, ready to fight if his relationship with Naruto wasn't given approval. Shikaku had merely given a slight nod and a small smile. Breakfast had been very awkward at first that morning but Naruto, unsurprisingly, got conversation flowing and after that is was impossible not to like the kid or disapprove of his son's choice. Shikaku's wife, Yoshino, practically fell head-over-heels for the blonde boy as she got to know him, proudly proclaiming him as her 'Son-in-Law' and mother-henning him to hell and back.

Naruto was accepted at the Nara compound and quickly considered part of the family. Shikaku and Shikamaru never spoke about any of it or let the clan elders get in the way. It was just accepted and understood that Shikamaru was with Naruto and vice-versa in their household and soon was understood and accepted among the clan as well. He'll never forget the grateful look in both his son's and the blonde's eyes at the easy acceptance.

When the war came Shikaku had never been more proud of his son. He watched his son and the future Hokage ( _because there were never any doubts in anyone's mind anymore that Uzumaki Naruto would not be the next Hokage of Konoha_ ) work perfectly together and Shikaku had no doubt that without the two, without their bond with each other, the war would have been much worse.

As Shikaku crouched next to Inoichi, both having just finished relaying their message to the Kages. His life passed before his eyes. He thought of his beautiful wife, Yoshino. His heart ached at the thought of leaving her alone but she was strong, she'd be alright in time. His thoughts turned to Shikamaru. His son was in good hands and though he knew it would hurt his son tremendously with his death and that Shikamaru didn't handle grief well, he knew his son would be okay. After all, this time he had Naruto to help him overcome his grief. Shikamaru and Naruto would be there for each other and Shikamaru would never abandon his mother even in the throes of mourning. Shikaku had a feeling Naruto would be there as well, the boy had a way of talking to people that brought the light back into their eyes.

They would be okay, the would win, they would live.

His memories soon came to the last moment he had seen his son fighting. Shikamaru's shadow's lashing out, supporting a bright, burning young man named Naruto as they tore through the battlefield. Light and Darkness. In perfect harmony.

" _How poetic..._ " Was his last thought as he smiled softly, accepting his death.


End file.
